Dr Rundi (seventh left) presides over the symbolic toasting of the ‘Ngirup Ai Pengayu’ (Drinking the Water of Long Life) for the pre-Gawai gathering.
BINTULU (May 13): Farmers in the state need to adopt a more productive modern farming pattern that produces large quantities of agricultural produce while also minimising energy consumption, said Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom.
In this regard, the Food Industry, Commodities and Regional Development Minister called on every farmer, especially small and medium oil palm planters, to focus on cash crops such as chili, cucumber, eggplant, corn, pepper and more.
“The integration of such crops should be practised by all farmers to ensure that they are able to make a profit in a short period of time without having to solely rely on oil palm crops,” he said.
Dr Rundi, who is Kemena assemblyman, said this when officiating the pre-Gawai Dayak Bintulu 2024 dinner at the civic centre here Saturday.
He added that the cash crop planting pattern could be done either individually, jointly, or in clusters, as the pattern has seen good returns for farming entrepreneurs.
The Dayak community has a lot of land but the land often does not yield the results the owners hope for, he pointed out.
“Therefore, the government through the Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development is always thinking of the best mechanism to help every farmer in the state to cultivate their land with different crops and commodities.
“We emphasise the cash crop method for them which can generate lucrative returns for every entrepreneur if they work hard with the right methods,” he said.
To assist the target groups, Dr Rundi said his ministry had organised various programmes and courses, particularly the Agriculture Community Outreach Programme (AgriCOP), to assist each participant increase their crop productivity.
He added that this was an ongoing effort to encourage more farmers to adopt more profitable modern farming methods with higher crop yields in the short term.
Dr Rundi also encouraged every member of Sarakup Indu Dayak Sarawak (SIDS) Bintulu to strive to find methods to increase their family income.
“It’s necessary to help improve the economic level while strengthening the role of women in the economic sector and other areas to develop their potential,” he said.
Meanwhile, SIDS Bintulu chairperson Catherine Lanyau expressed her gratitude to all those who placed their trust in the organisation to lead this year’s Gawai Dayak celebration for Bintulu.
“This is the result of the hard work and cooperation of all parties including the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA), Orang Ulu National Association (OUNA), and Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia).
During the dinner, Dr Rundi announced grants totaling RM65,000 to the Gawai Dayak Bintulu Celebration committee.
He contributed RM20,000 while Infrastructure and Port Development Deputy Minister Datuk Majang Renggi contributed RM15,000, Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department Dato Sri John Sikie Tayai (RM15,000), Jepak assemblyman Iskandar Turkee (RM10,000), and Tanjong Batu assemblyman Johnny Pang (RM5,000).
